Thorbjørn Jagland

The Council of Europe (CoE) was the latest EU body on Friday afternoon to congratulate Greece for approving the Prespes accord that promises to bring an end to the 27-year dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Hundreds of journalists and NGO activists protested on Wednesday in front of the Montenegrin government in Podgorica against the recent attack on the Vijesti journalist Olivera Lakic.

Lakic was shot and wounded late on Tuesday in front of her home in Podgorica.

Turkey belongs to Europe, and if Turkey were ever to be pushed away from Europe, the continent would suffer “many more problems than it experiences today,” Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland told daily Hürriyet on Feb. 16.

The spokesperson of Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has warned that Turkey risks further appeals to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) if it does not see effective domestic legal remedy for those dismissed or detained under state of emergency measures.

CoE Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland spoke to PM Yıldırım over the phone late July 19 to express his concerns over the arrest of human rights activists as well as the situation of two educators who have been on hunger strike for 134 days in prison.

Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has stressed the importance of "justice starting to work" in Turkey, adding that he is concerned by the current situation regarding fundamental rights in the country. 

As the hunger strike of two former educators dismissed through state of emergency decrees has reached its 62nd day, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Filiz Kerestecioğlu has sent letters to Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muizniek to raise awareness on the issue. 

The Council of Europe has urged both Turkey and the Netherlands to engage in dialogue following the eruption of a diplomatic row between the two countries that escalated after Dutch authorities banned Turkish ministers from entering the country. 

Remarks made by European Council Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, who says the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) may process applications on the jailed journalists and politicians in Turkey before awaiting a verdict from the Constitutional Court, should be treated as a very serious warning.

If it receives complaints, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will decide whether a commission formed by the Turkish government for complaints on decree law practices has been a sufficient domestic remedy, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said on March 1.